The Return of the Charmed Ones
by sndbrg23
Summary: The old prophecy from Just Some Dumb Book has gathered dust for over a century. Now, the Charmed Ones need to prevent a plague from killing all of their descendents. The problem is, they don't know they're the Charmed Ones, yet.
1. The Spirit Board

In all the years that the Halliwell line existed, the one that owns the house has no powers whatsoever. Period. The powers skipped me and went to my five year old daughter who can objects freeze like her namesake.

I'm not that upset. It has reduced the amount of stress I deal with on a daily basis. The last demon that attacked arrived when I was fifteen, and my mother vanquished him without batting an eye. Other than the significance of the house itself and no nexus, I haven't had to worry about any attacks.

Looking at the house, you'd never thought it was twenty-second century. The house has been preserved by magic, but also the San Francisco historical society as a turn of the century Victorian house. The other five houses around us are protected also leaving the area somewhat timeless.

You read back to find out what others thought the "future" was going to be. I've read _1984_ or even video scans of _The Jetsons_, and it's not even close. Cars are not hovering, and houses aren't on large poles. In fact, we're just more advanced than the last two hundred years and the changes are not even evident in my house. The styles have changed with the times. God, I sound like an old person..an old person at twenty-seven.

My daughter is gone for today; she's at Magic School with her friends while Kip and I work at the house. Ironically, it's my husband who has the powers and not me. He's half witch and half fairy—I don't joke with him with that piece of his heritage—and uses magic more than I do. As much I would love magical brooms and self-folding clothes, it is part of being a married mother in San Francisco.

The conservatory looks like a Barbie house has exploded, and I'm picking up the fifteenth Barbie shoe under the wicker white chair, and in the corner of my eye, I notice the Family Spirit Board's needle begin to move. My husband enjoys messing with me, because I can't do that trick and it aggravates me when he does it, "KIP?"

"Yeah?" I hear Kip's voice scream from the kitchen.

"Stop moving the spirit board! It's not funny!"

Kip, wearing his favorite ripped jeans and used shirt, carries a ham sandwich with a huge bite missing. "Spirit board?"

"You know it bothers me when you show off."

He is puzzled. "I didn't touch a thing. "

"Is Piper home?"

"No, why?"

"Don't you see the needle?" I point to the Spirit Board and the needle continues to move from letter to letter.

"Honey, I'm not messing with the Spirit Board. You think I'd mess with a family heirloom?"

"Then, who is it?"

I throw all the Barbie accessories into a basket and walk up to the board. The Spirit Board has been around for centuries, and it directed Phoebe Halliwell to the Book of Shadows. In turn, she read the incantation from the inside of the book, and inadvertently, changed her and her sisters into the Charmed Ones from Melinda Warren's prophecy in the 1600s.

Prophecies and premonitions aren't new for the Halliwell line. They have prevented harm and foresaw events way into the future. There is one prophecy about the re-coming of the Charmed Ones and saving the Halliwell line, but like the coming of Christ hasn't happen yet. My aunt had the gift of prophecy and helped my mother fight evil; unfortunately, it didn't prevent my aunt's untimely death at twenty-three or my mother's death this past winter. The gift of magic hasn't always been a blessing in our family. Many Halliwell women are blessed as witches but cursed as women. Too many women have seen their sisters die in front of them. As an only child, I didn't have to worry about losing a sister, but after the birth of my daughter, the thought of losing my daughter to evil has haunted me.

The Spirit Board spins in my arrival almost dancing. It points to A and then T and then T…

"Kip, why is the Spirit Board sending me to the attic?"

"Don't know."

"This isn't a joke, is it?" Kip shook his head. I sprint up the two flights of stairs to the attic. All the clutter has been magically moved and shrunken into a Victorian dresser, and the attic is barren except for the dresser and a black trunk. The trunk is worn black leather with fraying belts and holds the most important piece of Halliwell history inside, The Book of Shadows.

After my mother died, the Book glared at me as if I was responsible for her death instead of evil. I placed the heavy Book in the trunk the day of her funeral—almost putting to rest magic—good and evil along with my mother. Now, the trunk moved its legs as if it was walking toward me.

It reaches my feet and springs open. And like seven months ago, it glares at me. I feel like it's blaming me, _Shannen Aster, if you had powers, you could have saved your mother. One vanquishing potion or spell could have destroyed that evil bastard, but you didn't have it in you to save her. _The book was right.

I pull out the Book and place it on a dusty stand. The intricate Celtic Wiccan engraving and the gold letters pop onto my fingertips. It juts open and begins to flip pages then just as abruptly starts it ends on a page. On top of the page reads, "The Return of the Charmed Ones." The prophecy was like the Charmed prophecy—everyone in the family knew it, but as I peer onto most closely, it appears the page is fading. I touch the letters and I am jerked away from book as if I am electrically shocked.

My eyes close as a flash of memories rush me…_antique clock, an old fashioned camera, squinting eyes, feeling staying and moving in one direction, Piper, but not my Piper, Phoebe, white demon with flowing white hair, shoved through a wall, blood spilling, Paige…_

In just that moment, I open my eyes and reread the prophecy:

_The Charmed line will be threatened as Egypt's men_

_A return is vital in order to defend_

_Enriched in every season, each will bloom_

_Their arrival will prevent certain doom_

_Heed this warning not as Pharaoh_

_Together again, destroy this evil foe._

I speak to the Book as if it is a long lost friend, "I'm Prue Halliwell." My legs feel wobbly and drop to the floor.


	2. Finding Phoebe

My thump must have gotten Kip's attention, because he was at my side when I came through. My eyes opened and I saw Kip but not Kip in front of me. I saw Andy-Andy Trudeau—Prue's boyfriend who…died when a demon killed him. "Andy?"

Kip released me, "Who's Andy?"

Everything swirled around me, and nothing made sense. Memories of two people entered my mind, my own and Prue Halliwell's. I now know why people don't remember past lives; it would be too confusing to keep them straight. I leaned against the attic wall surveying the scene.

Kip demanded, "Who's Andy?"

"Prue's boyfriend. I swore you were him."

"Prue Halliwell—from the Book?" I nodded, and Kip sat next to me just as dumbfounded. "So, the prophecy?"

"Is true, I guess. My own memories are being mixed with hers. You must have been Andy Trudeau in that lifetime. He was Prue's boyfriend. She never married…wait, that's not true. I marr..I mean…she married an evil witch and then a..demon." I placed my head into my hands. "I'm so confused."

"So, if you're Prue Halliwell, you should have her powers. What are they?"

"Telekinesis and astro-projection." I see a ball Piper must have left up here. "Come here, ball." I waved, I squinted my eyes, and I demanded, but no ball.

"Maybe you need your…sisters..in order to have your powers. You don't have sisters, though."

"No, not in this lifetime, but then, I did. I had three sisters. Two I knew of and then the other after I died." I climbed up to the Book and began to turn pages. "This is Prue. She's the eldest of the Charmed Ones, and I think, me. She had a love of antiques and photography…"

"Like you do.."

"Exactly. This is Piper Halliwell, the second eldest, and became the eldest after Prue died. I…she was the closest to Piper than her other two sisters. It would make sense I named my daughter after her. This is Phoebe Halliwell. She was a hellraiser from the womb. She broke every Wiccan law and married a demon who ended up being the Source. Then, Paige Matthews…"

"Why does she have a different name?"

I could remember the event as if it happened yesterday. "Her mom and dad thought that a whitelighter and a witch having a child would be dangerous. They gave her up for adoption and a family named Matthews adopted her. Her adopted parents ended up being killed in a car crash that Paige thought she had caused it." Reading Paige's entry made me think of someone.

"When was the last time we talked to Mom's whitelighter?"

"Mom's funeral, right?"

"His name is Kyle, right?"

"Yeah, so…"

"On Paige's page it mentions she was involved with a guy named Kyle who ended up becoming a whitelighter. Could he be the same? KYLE?"

A shower of light danced in front of us. Kyle was just as a young as he was when I was a child. "Hey, what's up?"

"This is..what's up." I showed him the prophecy. "I was summoned here and when I touched this page, it shocked me and I remember being Prue Halliwell."

"Oh, dear…"

"Oh, dear, doesn't cut it. This means the prophecy is coming true, which means any one- including my little girl -with Halliwell blood could be endangered. How many people could that be?"

Kyle jumped into whitelighter mode. He turned the page to the prophecy and pointed to a family tree. "Wyatt, Piper's son and father of Patsy, transferred the family tree into the Book of Shadows. It would add heirs by itself, in case this happened. Now, the people who are still alive are in red, those in black are deceased. This total is how many descendants are alive on Earth—143." Just as Kyle said the number, it dropped down to 142, then 141, and then 140 within seconds.

"How often does it drop like that?" Kip questioned Kyle.

"Not ever. You need to find your sisters now, if you are to find a cure to this."

"How? Do they exist? How can I…I have no powers?"

"Your sisters exist. This would not happen if not for that. You are a witch even if you do not have active powers." Kyle went through several drawers of the cabinet. "Here, it's a crystal. Find an object that would connect to your sisters and spin the crystal. Where it drops is where you'll go. My guess is when your sisters touch this page, they too will remember their past lives. You have to use Prue's memories to help find your sister. I need to let the Elders know. They have to put the whitelighters on full alert. We can heal almost everyone, except those who have little or no knowledge of the Charmed line or magic. I'll be back." Kyle disappeared in a swirl of orbs.

"Kip, what do I do?"

"Do what Kyle says." Kip walked to the dresser and pulled three large boxes. One is marked Piper, then Phoebe, and last, Paige. Kip opened the Phoebe box and was almost swallowed. "Does this end?" His sound was muffled.

"Grams made it to hold all her belongings-like Mary Poppins's bag."

"Good Grief. It will take days to get through a box. Maybe if you look, you'd find something that Prue remembers."

I pulled the box closer to me and started looking. What was so significant to Phoebe that it would carry her essence? Then, I found an old picture frame with Phoebe and Cole. She gave up everything to be with him.

For the longest time, I thought the Halliwells were interested in cartography, but I realized that all the maps were used in scrying. I found a US map that was fifty years old, but thought it would work, even though some of the locations were now under water.

Holding the crystal, I placed it next to Phoebe's face, hoping the crystal would find her lifeprint. Then, I carried it and let the crystal move. The crystal spun one, two, three times, and it landed on Salem…Salem, Massachusetts. This is where Melinda Warren died. "KYLE!"

Kyle beamed down. "So, any luck?"

I pointed to the map. "Salem, Massachussetts…do you know how many witches are in Salem? Especially Melinda Warren's children?"

He combed through his hair and thought. "It's a start. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Salem. We'll orb there and get a map, and you'll scry to find Phoebe."

I didn't remember the last time I orbed, but I kissed Kip and instructed, "Keep an eye out for Piper. If this prophecy is true, it could affect the youth first. Yell for Kyle if something comes up." He nodded and we orbed.

Orbing is like an elevator ride; it has the same stomach jumps when you start and land. Kyle had landed in a back parking lot to avoid exposure. As we walked to the front, downtown Salem looked like it was hundreds of years ago. Salem was a Wiccan needle in the haystack, and I had to find one I didn't recognize.

We ended up at an energy station where several people plugged their cars. Gasoline had been banned in the mid 2000s and electric fuel was one of the options. No one worked at this "gas station", but there was a map of Salem with sponsors highlighted.

"Can I scry with a digital image?"

"It can be done, but I think it's a better shot if you let Prue's memories help you find Phoebe. Concentrate on Phoebe. Close your eyes and think: where would Phoebe be in this town." I opened my eyes and pointed to an intersection, 5th and March. We were only two blocks away.

At the intersection, we stood to find several shops and restaurants, and it could take days to get to each location and find out if Phoebe was there. "Kyle, now what?"

"Based on what you know about Phoebe, where would she work?"

My body and mind were working faster than I could comprehend, because we were in front of a newsscan. Newspapers weren't papers anymore; they were digital scans that people read from their tablets every morning. Phoebe worked as an advice columnist.

Walking into the news room, there were several people on phones and skype-ing different sources. No one looked like Phoebe. It was a sea of nothing. A short older woman came to the front, "Can I help you?"

"We wanted to talk to your advice columnist."

"She's at lunch. She's probably at her Grandmother's place down two stores; it is a supernatural store with all sorts of bobbles. I'm sorry. We're really busy." And she pushed us out the door without a goodbye.

Kyle wiped the dirt from his shirt. "Supernatural, huh?"

"You think it's her?"

"The prophecy mentions _each will bloom in every season_, right?"

"Okay, your last name is Aster. It's an autumn flower. It is dependent, patient, and resistant. It also connects to gravesites."

"You mean like Prue dying?"

"I think each of your sisters is a flower from a different season. Since you're an autumn, Phoebe has to be one of the other three."

"It's gotta be Spring or Summer. She's not a winter. We have to find someone who has Phoebe's traits and has a corresponding flower."

We moved through the crowds to a small shop with the triquetra as a symbol. Kyle and I knew we were on the right track. The triquetra was on the Book of Shadows and a symbol for the Charmed Ones. The bell rang as we entered and an elderly woman greeted us, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"We..are new to Salem and thought we find some information about my heritage."

"From Salem?"

"My ancestor was Melinda Warren."

"Ah, the Charmed Ones…" She relaxed in a chair tiredly. "I have some books on the Halliwell line, but they're in the back. My granddaughter can get them for you, "Alyssa! "

"Yes, Grams?" a voice yelled back.

"Come meet these nice people. My granddaughter takes care of me when she's on lunch from the newsscan. She is pure of heart. Just waiting for a great-grandchild—whenever he or she comes…"

Alyssa carried several books and balanced five vials on top of them. She was beautiful, poised, and refined like a …

"This is my granddaughter, Alyssa Lillianfield."

A lily. Phobes.


	3. Phoebe's Calling

Alyssa Lillianfield was slender and tall with sandy blonde hair that flowed to the middle of her back. She was a little younger than I am, and those innocent eyes were kind but knowing Phoebe, she also had an inner fire to her. Her grandmother didn't seem surprised of our shocked looks.

"Do I know you?" Alyssa placed the stack of books and vials on a nearby shelf.

"I'm Shannen, and this is Kyle, my…" I seemed lost for words. He's not my husband. He's not my boyfriend. I don't think I'd call him a friend. He's…

"I'm her mother's whitelighter. Hello, Elizabeth. You've been taken care of yourself?"

The older woman lifted her spectacles and stared at Kyle. "No FBI cover, huh, Kyle? I can still change you into a toad." In life, Kyle had been an FBI agent, but secretly, he was after the avatars and their questionable actions. Kyle smiled. "Alyssa, I they need to see you."

"Why?" Alyssa glanced at her watch. "My lunch is over. I have to go back…"

"They don't care if you work there or home. They barely notice you there in the first place. Let them explain why they're here. We _**depend**_ on it." Elizabeth seemed to know the reason.

"Grams, what do you know? Did you see anything? I hate when you have premonitions, and I can't!"

Her, too? "Pardon me, you don't have any powers…active powers?"

"No. It figures. The only child and no active powers." She chomped on her gum. She was aggravated, and this was an old argument. I wondered if Piper and Paige were similar—only children and no active powers. The only way we'll receive our Charmed powers would be all four of us next to the Book.

Kyle was ready for the next step. "Would you come with us? It would take five minutes. If this doesn't pan out, we'll take you back to your office, and you can go back to your office."

"I..I..don't..know.."

"Your grandmother can come too. Right, Lizzie?"

"Kyle, you know I hate when you call me, Lizzie. I haven't been to San Francisco in years! I love to."

"San Francisco? Grams, we can't afford…"

"I'll take care of the flight plan," Kyle reassured Alyssa. She nodded hesitantly, and Elizabeth held her hand. Kyle intertwined his fingers with Elizabeth, as if they had been old friends. We orbed, and in a matter of seconds, we returned to San Francisco and our attic.

Elizabeth and Alyssa released their hands from Kyle, and Elizabeth looked out the window. "Oh, how I love San Francisco. It's been so long!"

"Grams, we're in San Francisco, CALIFORNIA! How did this happen?"

"It's called orbing. Whitelighters can move from one location to the next. We need to do this to help witches like you and your grandmother."

"I'm not a witch…"

It was time for me to start talking. "You are. Like me. I was an only child and I, too, don't have active powers. " I walked to the Book of Shadows. "This is a book of witchcraft and a family history. Our family history. We're cousins, see?" Alyssa moved to where I was standing. "This is me, Shannen Aster, and this is you, Alyssa Lillianfield." Alyssa touched my name and then hers. "We're family. Now, this is a prophecy that one of our ancestors saw. It's a premonition on a bigger scale. We..I think.. you are part of the solution."

Alyssa read the prophecy, her lips mouthing the words. She raised her hand to touch the lettering like I did, and the same shock jolted her body near to the spot I had been too. I crouched next to her.

Alyssa rubbed her head and stared at me bewilderedly. "Prue?"

"Hi, Phoebe. Welcome Home."


	4. Bonding to Connect

In the Charmed world, weird is normal. A day without explosions, demon guts, and rhyming couplets was my present norm, but now knowing who I was and having Phoebe sitting next to me as dazed as I was, brought those memories to the forefront.

Wasn't this the life I wanted as Prue? To be free of witchcraft, of duty, and of being the savior to humanity? The Angel of Destiny granted my wish in this life, but she knew my destiny couldn't stay that way.

Ironically the sister I fought with as Prue is the first sister I find. Phoebe and I always argued, and it didn't get better being the Charmed Ones. I think deep inside I was envious and jealous of what Phoebe: her life with Cole, her successful career, and her longevity and spirit. Now, she was my biggest ally.

"Wow," Phoebe rubbed her head. "What a rush.."

"I know." I showed her my bump on my head. "Knowledge carries a wallop."

"So, the prophecy is happening—our line is in trouble?"

"'Fraid so. We haven't seen it materialize except in the Book of Shadows." Phoebe gradually rose and turned to the family tree. The number was 135.

"It's gone down, while we've been gone. The red names are living and the black ones are…"

"Where's our powers? I thought once we remembered we would get them back."

"Me too, but most likely, we won't be Charmed until all four are reunited—like the prophecy says."

Kip came with an iced glass of water and a couple of aspirin. "Here."

"ANDY! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" Phoebe hugged Kip.

"I'm Kip, Shan—er—Prue's—husband."

"Of course. Sorry—Past lives. Last time, I was an evil witch who was killed by Prue and Pip—"

"We weren't us! You know that! We were cousins then too. That warlock—Anton—turned you evil."

Phoebe nudged Kip, "I always loved riling up Prue." My little sister—things haven't changed.

"So, where's Piper and Paige?"

"We have to find them just like we found you."

"Scrying, right? With what?"

"This." I gave Phoebe the frame. "You were willing to sacrifice a lot for him. I knew it would leave a permanent mark."

As Phoebe looked at the frame, I thought of Cole. He and I had made a great partnership and a beautiful little girl. Seeing her reflect, I did too, knowing we both finally understood each other about at least one thing, Cole.

"I have very fond memories of him. He taught," she gazed into my eyes, "both of us a lot about ourselves."

I nodded. "Now, we have to use our collective knowledge to find Piper and Paige."

Phoebe began to pace and finally looked at Elizabeth, "GRAMS!" Phoebe lunged for her grandmother and in recognition, she hugged her in return.

I was confused. "Phoebe, she is your grandmother."

"No, Prue, this is GRAMS—our Grams, Penny Halliwell."

I tried to focus using Prue's memories; I examined Elizabeth: her pudgy fingers were slender, her gray hair was golden, and her smile is genuine. "GRAMS!" I hugged her just as strongly as Phoebe did, and in her eyes, Grams had already known.

"Honey, I had a dream last night of the four of you girls in the attic. I saw what you looked like then and now. I knew when you walked in the shop I knew you were one of my girls."

"But you didn't know whom, right?"

"No, not when you came in, but after talking to you, it was pretty easy to figure it out."

"Mom? Dad?" Phoebe whispered.

"Not sure. Remember past lives are not linear. You were cousins, then sisters, and then cousins. You will probably recognize them before they do."

"Piper and Paige could be difficult to find." Phoebe decided to redirect the conversation. "Piper wanted to be normal. She didn't want to be a witch. She fought it in every way. Paige, she's our half siste—"

"Sister," Penny corrected Phoebe, "She is half-sister in blood, but a full sister witch. Any way you are able to find Piper, you can find Paige. So, which should we try first?"

Phoebe and I shrugged simultaneously. Both provided road blocks along the way. Without thinking we both said, "Paige." I think we knew Piper was going to be a pistol about all of this.

"Any ideas about connecting to her?" Penny began rummaging around Paige's box: a necklace, a shoe—nothing seemed to connect.

"I might help," Kyle interrupted the thought process. He knelt by her box and pulled out a snowglobe. "I gave this to Paige for safekeeping." The snow globe was of New York City and the World Trade Center. Kyle was from New York and after September 11th, the World Trade Center was really important.

Paige had just begun to grieve Kyle's death. The Avatars had killed him, because he had exposed their secret of taking over the world. Crying in his apartment, Paige was visited by the whitelighter Kyle, and the snow globe gave her the strength to carry on without him. She loved him so much. In fact, if he hadn't died, she would have married him instead of Henry. Destiny has a strange way of getting people together.

Phoebe held Kyle's hands and the snow globe. She had tears in her eyes and her voice choked up, "That's perfect."


	5. Plucking Paige and Piper

I wrapped the crystal's chain around the snow globe, while Phoebe placed the U.S. map on the floor. The crystal rotated around twice before it slipped out of my hand and landed in Texas. Kyle pulled a Texas map out of one of the drawers. "Try this now."

Phoebe removed the U.S. map and replaced it with the Texas map. The map was as large as the U.S. one. Phoebe took the crystal and the snow globe and spun the chain. It landed in Grand Prairie, Texas. Located in eastern Texas near Arlington, Grand Prairie has a population over 100,000, so finding Paige was going to be difficult. We both knew more were at risk every minute it took us to find Paige and Piper.

Kyle held both Phoebe's and my hand, and we orbed to Grand Prairie. We ended up at the intersection of Jefferson and Freeway streets-desolate industrial parks with hundreds of businesses.

Phoebe slapped her hands on her sides, "How what?"

"We have to think about Paige. Based on what we know, where would Paige be?" I surveyed the area and pointed, "How about the Texas Health and Human Services?"

"Prue, do you know how big that building is? It's going to take forever."

"Be positive. Hopefully, there's a directory." We walked toward the building, and I pulled a sheet out of my pocket. "I copied down some notes from the Book. Let's see. Aster is a fall flower, and lily is a spring flower. My guess is that Paige is a summer flower."

"And what are summer flowers?"

"Roses, peonies, irises, larkspur, marigolds, zinnias…"  
"Well, it's a start."

We reached the entrance way to find a touch tablet directory with each letter having ten to twenty names. Phoebe and I rolled our eyes, but we thought this was a process. We reached M and finally we got a hit. "Rose Mitchelson? Henry's last name was Mitchell," Phoebe looked at Kyle who didn't seem upset.

"A summer flower and a Henry connection. It has to be it."

Through seven floors and three checkpoints, we reached Rose Mitchelson's office. A portly redhead welcomed us, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"We're here to see Rose Mitchelson."

"I'm sorry. Mrs. Mitchelson is not in. She is on field visits today. She will not be in the building until tomorrow."

"Is there a way to contact her? It's an emer—"

"Are you on the emergency list?" As I was talking, I noticed Kyle walking out the door and orbing.

"My name is Shannen Aster, and this is my cousin, Alyssa Lillianfield."

The redhead scanned her tablet. "I'm sorry. You are not on the list. We have a strict policy in regards to privacy and our employees. Perhaps, you could contact one who is on the list."

We nodded and exited the office. Kyle was there smiling. "Why are you smiling? We struck out," Phoebe glared at Kyle.

"We didn't strike out. I looked at her calendar. She will be at the Blue Rags at 7PM. She has it highlighted and starred. We just have to find out what and where Blue Rags is located."

"I hope it's not a strip bar," I mumbled.

"No, that would be Piper," Phoebe mused, "Remember she did the counter dance for her high school reunion."

"She was also possessed at the time."

"Still..it's a possibility."

Thank God, it wasn't. Blue Rags is a night club in Arlington. It features jazz and blues. On its website, its banner mentions the opening act as the beautiful Rose of Arlington and it displayed Rose's picture. We couldn't tell if it was Paige. We didn't know each other until we touched the Book. Right now, it was four, and we had three hours to kill.

We returned to San Francisco knowing we had to do something. Grams was hovered over the U.S. map with a blue baby blanket and the scrying crystal. "Any luck?" I asked.

"Nope," Grams stopped spinning the crystal, "I thought Wyatt's blanket would find Piper."

"Grams, I think we all used that blanket one time or the other. It was a good try. Did you try anything else?"

"I tried a couple bracelets, but I couldn't find her wedding ring…"

Phoebe and I looked at each other. "Most likely, we won't find her ring. It disappeared when she took the potion at the end of her life. Let me try." Phoebe's arms dug into Piper's box, and she lost her balance and fell in the box.

"Phoebe!"

"I'm fine. It's like a walk-in closet. At least it's organized. How about Piper's wedding dress?"

I still felt guilty for Piper's wedding, and I didn't want to bring up old issues, "Really, Phoebe? I don't think Piper has all happy memories about that event."

Phoebe yelled, "True, so true." She scrounged in more drawers. "How about a P3 keychain?"

"Not close enough."

I heard hear Phoebe emptying boxes inside of boxes and a series of bumps, jingles, and crashes followed her. "I GOT IT!"

"What? What?"

"Help me out." I pulled Phoebe out of the box, and she pulled a golden chain from her pocket. She handed me the chain. It was my old necklace with my name, Prue, in cursive.

"Why would she…"

"Come on, Prue. When you died, Piper was so distraught. She wanted a piece of you. Leo found your necklace and gave it to Piper for a wedding anniversary. She treasured it to her dying day."

I didn't respond. Grams gave me the crystal, and I held the crystal chain and my chain together. The crystal began to spin violently. It landed in Illinois. Like before, we found the map of Illinois, and I scryed with the crystal again. It landed in Yorkville, Illinois—fifty miles out of Chicago.

"Okay, Kyle, let's try it again."

We orbed to a small town with its shopping centers and McDonalds, but we landed next to a large complex. I figured that our connection to the crystal gets us real close to the person. It worked with Phoebe and Paige, so it must be the same for Piper.

"Prue, it's worse than a strip club. It's juvenile detention!"

I thought, _Great, Piper is an angry adolescent!_


	6. Piper's in the Pen

I guess it was appropriate. Phoebe and Paige had been hellraisers as teenagers, and I wasn't the easiest of teen to deal with, so it was Piper's turn. It just made it more complicated.

Reaching to the entrance, we stood next to a solid steel wall ten feet by feet. They don't mess around with crime here in Illinois. Adjacent to the wall was an electronic tablet similar to one in Texas. The words displayed, "Name of Inmate."

Phoebe and I were dumbstruck; we didn't have a leg to stand on—just a scry's mark and a whitelighter as our guide. "Kyle, any guess?"

"Maybe if we type in a first name, it will give a list of all the inmates. Let's see—you have your list of winter flowers?"

I dug into my back pocket and found my notes, "Okay, winter flowers…Acashia, Alstromeria, Amaryllis, Carnation, Chrysanthemums, Cyclamen, Evergreens, Gerbera Daisy, Ginger, Helleborus, Holly berry, Narcissus, Orchid…anything sound…Piperish?"

Phoebe thought, "Well, Piper is definitely not a Daisy or Ginger. She'd spit at a Ginger. Piper is strong, cankerous, stubborn, protective, and resilient—after all she went through in her life. Does that help?"

"Holly berries. The Celtic meaning of the holly is ruling with style—like she was Mother Earth? Holly is planted around houses to protect from lightning. It's gotta be.."

Phoebe pressed for the keyboard and typed Holly in the space. The computer responded, "Two Hollys are inmates. Continue?"

Phoebe continued and the screen displayed two Hollys, but we only needed to see one. "Phoebs, is it that easy?"

She couldn't believe it. The first Holly had the last name of Baxter—the same last name she had in the 1920s—her last past life. This had to be more of a coincidence. Clicking on Holly Baxter's name, the screen changed to a woman with a beehive hairdo with seventeen butterfly pins in her hair as if it was their home.

Her nasal voice echoed in the speakers. "Yes, you're here to see Holly Baxter."

"Yes, my name is Shannen Aster. I'm her..cousin. I'm here to bail her out."

"Ms. Baxter is required to serve at least one day of her sentence before she can be released. You come back tomorrow at 5PM."

Phoebe was stunned, "She was just arrested!"  
"Just processed. The complaint has shoplifting as the cause of the arrest…for stealing saffron, vanilla, cardamom…"

Phoebe and I rolled our eyes at each other and said simultaneously, "Piper."

"Excuse me?"

"We'll be back tomorrow. What are the bail and the penalty fees?"

"It says it is one day sentence—first offense, but it is a $300 bail fee and a $1,500 penalty for reparations."

Phoebe gasped, "Eighteen hundred dollars for stealing spices?"

"It's steep to teach a lesson. Why would a kid want herbs and spices?" It made us question Piper's motive. It wasn't to make paella. Only one seemed probably-Piper knows she's a witch, and she's making a potion for some reason. Maybe she already knows who really she is, and we can solve this mess quicker than anticipated.

"Good day." The screen returned to Name of Inmate, and we were o for 2—striking out was so close, and we couldn't for the sake of the Halliwell name. Paige has got to be easier that this!


	7. Pestering Paige

Returning to San Francisco, dejected was not the word. We had used all this time to find our sisters to end up with nothing. Grams scanned over the Book of Shadows, and in her frustration, looked like the millionth time.

"Girls, I'm so glad your back. Where's Piper?"

"She's in jail," Phoebe answered flatly.

"JAIL? How? What did she do?"

"Oh, she was caught shoplifting herbs and spices."

Grams put her hand on her side, "So…Piper."

"And to add to the fun, Piper is a teenager, and to be bail her out, we need $1,800."

"I can understand why you're upset. " Grams looked at Phoebe. "I have some money to help out, but I don't have much on hand."

"Kip and I can pay the bail, but it's going to hurt. Kip's jobs are seasonal at times, and the studio's not getting its normal customers as much. Family is family, and Piper would do the same for all of us. "

I left Phoebe, Grams, and Kyle in the attic, and I had to find Kip. Having a supernatural husband, it made it a lot easier to reason with him. Outside, Kip was repairing the fence and removing rotting boards. It seemed as the trees were painting each board and carrying to Kip.

"Honey,"

"Yeah," in between hammer hits.

"We found Piper."

"That's great, honey."

"That's the good news…"

"And the bad news?"

"She's…in jail."

He swerved around, "Jail?"

"Teenage jail…I..we have to bail her out and pay the penalty.

"Which is?"

"1,800."

"Dollars?"

"No, pecos..of course, dollars!"

The painting stopped, and trees swung in the wind. "It's a lot, but I know this is more than money, right?"

I nodded. "If this curse is true, which I think it is, it could affect me and little Piper. It's already killed twenty Halliwells."

"Then, you need to do it. We'll figure it out later." Kip smiled, and it was one of the first things I noticed about him when I met him. His smile was perfect and warm.

I kissed and let him get back to his work. I glanced at my watch. It was five—seven in Texas. We had to hurry to get Paige.

Through some navigation, Kyle orbed us to Arlington, Texas. We heard the echo of baseball field several miles away. The Blue Rags is a hole in the wall at the end of an alley. It wasn't something that a stranger could find easily; you had to find it.

The club was crowded with a variety of street types, and Kyle, Phoebe, and I had changed into some night clothes, so we could blend a bit. Phoebe's crimson dress had a slit to mid-thigh, and I had a slinky halter black dress at T length. Kyle, well, we had to do some hemming with Kip's clothes, but a shirt and tie seemed appropriate. He stood by the door and waited for us.

In the background of clinking glasses and cheap giggles, a harmonious sound floated. Smooth, slick, a muse's voice…a siren's voice, and we reached Rose-a tall, statuesque woman with onyx hair that shined with her every moment.

We bought drinks, so we could talk to the bartender. Phoebe brushed her hair back and worked her God given magic, "When is Rose done with her set?"

A slimy bartender with missing teeth took the bait, "Why? You'll do just fine."

Phoebe played with the man's tie, "Well, maybe you and I can work something out. So?"

"Eight. What are you going to do for me?"

Phoebe leaned in, "When's your break?"

"Anytime," he oozed.

"Well, at 8:15, you take you little break and I'll meet you in that corner," Phoebe pointed out a dark exit. He shook in agreement, and Phoebe released his tie.

"PHOEBE!"

"What are you doing?"

"Getting information."

"By getting in danger?"

"We'll be gone by then."

"What if her set goes longer?"

"Damn. Didn't think of that."

"We better hurry, before you have to commit to that…date of yours."

Ironically, Rose sang "Witchcraft," "That Old Black Magic," and "I Put A Spell on You." Phoebe knew Paige sang. She painted. She was a bad ass witch. At her last bar ended, we hurried through the crowd and met Rose at her dressing room that looked like a closet.

"Rose?"

A wave of hair turned around. "Yes?"

"I'm Shannen, and this is Alyssa. We need to talk to you."

"If it's about work…"

"No, it's not. It's about family."

She looked suddenly worried, "Has something happened to Aunt Jane?"

Phoebe and I weren't sure how to respond, but we had to get Rose out of there. "Yeah, she just got worse. She needs you."

Rose opened the door, grabbed her coat, and began to walk toward the entrance.

"WAIT!" Phoebe stopped her. "Is there another way out of here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We'd..I'd rather not deal with a sleazeball bartender."

"Marty…he is a sleazeball. Come." Through the backdoor, we ended up in another alley. "So, where's your car?"

"We have something different. KYLE!"

Kyle orbed in, and Rose gasped, "What the hell!"

"Just come with us," Kyle grabbed her hand and then ours. Within the orb, you could hear Rose's screams.

We landed, but it wasn't peaceful. "LET ME GO! What are you doing with me? Help! Help!"

Kyle released her. "No one's coming to help you. We're the good guys."

"Good guys? KIDNAPPING IS GOOD?"

"We didn't kidnap you. We..need you," Phoebe whispered.

"Need me for what? Where's Aunt Jane?"

Kyle reassured her. "Jane is fine. It's you we need."

"For _**What?**_"

I went by the Book and Grams who was smiling and crying at the same time. "This is a book of magic. It has a family tree of our family. We are cousins, and some evil is trying to kill us." I skimmed the pages, "You're right here. Come."

"I'm not going by you or that Book, whatever that is. I want to go home. NOW!"

"ROSE! We'll die. Our kids will die. You have to help us."

"NEVER! Get me home or I'll call the police. I'll say you're witches and you'll be burned!"

I smirked, "Seen that."

Phoebe countered, "_**Did THAT**_."

The arguing and the noise must have worried little Piper. We heard the running of heavy running shoes up the wooden flights of stairs. "MOMMY?" She gazed at all the unknown adults in the room in fear, "Is ev'rytig okay?"

"Honey, everything's fine. Why don't you go play downstairs?"

"K, Mommy." Piper skipped through the threshold and stopped suddenly. Her faces turned white, "Mommy, I don't feel so good," and passed out on the floor.

"PIPER!" I ran to her side and carried her to the couch. Her face started to blotch red markings and boils began to cover her body. "KYLE, do something." Kyle raised his hands over my daughter, and the healing power began to work, but Piper was not getting better, "ROSE, TOUCH THE DAMN BOOK, NOW!"

Without arguing, Rose inched to the Book where the prophecy had been left open. Hesitantly, she grazed her palms onto the paper and squeezed her eyes shut. The moment she touched the Book, she bounced back hitting the same spot Phoebe and I had fallen.

Kyle continued to heal as I held Piper. The boils were gone, but she was hot to the touch. Piper began to convulse in fever. "KIP!"

As Kip flew up the stairs, Kyle picked up Piper in his arms. Kyle through the door was telling Kip to wet several washcloths with cold water to bring the fever down. Phoebe watched in horror as Piper was being healed at the same time Rose touching the book and crashing against the attic wall. She jumped to Rose's side who was still shaking her head. I watch Kyle and Kip take my daughter to her room and then joined Phoebe.

Rose opened her eyes and rubbed her head, "Hey, Phoebe, Prue. That was one hell of a wake-up call." She spun her head in different directions. "Where's Piper?"

"Jail," Phoebe answered resignedly, "Long story."

Phoebe and I pulled Paige up and the only thing Paige could say was, "Piper, jail, that's a new one."


	8. Overnight

Paige had to call her husband and calm him down. He hadn't heard from her since the afternoon, and he wasn't thrilled about her singing in an unruly club.

"Honey, I'm with some friends." Paige listened to her husband. "They really need me. I'm going to stay the night and call you later." Paige rolled her eyes. "I love you too. Night."

Grams hugged Paige, "How did it go?"

"He grumbled, but nothing new."

"No matter what time it is, men never change." Paige nodded in agreement.

Kip entered the attic. His sleeves were rolled up, and he looked exhausted. "I've got Piper as comfortable as I can get her. She still has a fever."

"Honey, why don't you get some sleep? This has been a taxing day. We'll take turns watching Piper tonight."

Kip yawned, "Okay. Night. Love you."

"Love you." Kip trudged back down the stairs to our bedroom. "Grams, there's a guest room. It's Phoebe's old room. You and Phoebe can sleep there. Paige…"

"The couch?"

"No, we have a rollaway bed. Mom's had it for years, for emergencies. I'll get it set up for you here if you'd like."

"Thanks, Prue. I'm not picky. To be quite honest, I don't know how much sleep we'll get tonight." Paige must had seen my eyes and Phoebe's, because I had the same thought.

"Well, let's set the bed up, make some tea, and watch over Piper."

Grams had retired for the evening; she was older than before. She needed sleep. We made the rollaway bed for Paige, brewed some chamomile tea, and pulled some chairs outside of Piper's room. I changed the lukewarm washcloth to a cold one to keep Piper's temperature down.

"How's she doing?" Phoebe eased into her chair.

"Stable for now. Where's Kyle?"

"He needed to talk to the Elders," Paige had changed into a pair of my sleeppants and crossed her legs. "Wow. To see Kyle. He hasn't changed at all."

"Regrets?"

"No," Paige sighed, "I have very fond memories of him. I'm glad he is a whitelighter. He helped you and Phoebe, and me. I'm happy being married to Henry." Paige smiled, "Yeah, his name is Henry here too—and in law enforcement. He's a detective and gets paranoid when I'm out."

"You have kids, Paige?" Phoebe wondered.

"Not yet. We've talked about it, and now, if and when, we get our Charmed powers, that throws another complication."

"You did it before…"

"But I remember the problems with magical children. The loss."

I knew she was talking about Kat, who died early in life- like me. Paige isolated herself and fell into a deep depression. Kat's twin became Piper-fury violent, and could not find a safe outlet. Piper and Phoebe tried to comfort them; they knew Paige and Tam had to move on together.

"But there was so much good," Phoebe argued. "I couldn't think what my life would have been if I didn't have my children, nieces, and nephews. Yes, there were difficult times. Some days seemed to last forever, but the good outweighs that ten-fold. Prue, you're happy?"

"Very. Piper is an angel. When I was pregnant, I was always drawn to Piper's name and didn't know why. I guess I know now. My love of photography has me working at a studio downtown, and several of my pictures have been published. Kip, he's been magical since I met him. We met at Magic School, and he's half fairy and half witch. Kip's mother doesn't visit a lot, and his father died years back. It's been just us for ten years now—married seven. You find anyone inspiring, Phoebs?"

Phoebe thought for a moment. "No one has spiked my interests-nothing as strong as I remember with Cole and Coop. I guess my subconscious is looking for that connection again." Paige and I just nodded understanding what she meant. "I'm going for a refill. Anyone want some?"

I nodded and Paige offered, "I'll go help you. Prue, you can check on Piper." Paige grabbed my tea cup and followed Phoebe down the stairs.

Piper's room was illuminated with pink light highlighting the white ruffles everywhere. A giant mountain of stuffed animals covered one corner and a wooden doll house in another. She lay still, and her chest slowly raised and fell. I stroked her face as tears started to trickle down my face.

"Prue?" Paige had entered the room with Prue's refill. I turned around, and Paige saw my tears. Today had been so emotional, and I hadn't released any of it. Like in the past, I wanted to stay strong for my sisters and keep positive, but after seeing little Piper groan in her sleep, my heart ached.

"Honey, it's going to be okay. Piper's only hours away. She always has a plan—even if she's just a teenager now. Piper will always be Piper—the good and the ugly, especially the ugly."

I sniffed, "Could you imagine Piper's powers if she had them as a teen?"

Paige giggled, "I would have lost more furniture." When Paige moved in, Piper in anger destroyed one of Paige's chairs. The foam, I think, is still in the atmosphere. "It would be great if we were here together again."

"We will—tomorrow and from then on."


	9. La Femme Nakia

We all crashed by early morning, and Paige fell into the rollaway and Phoebe joined Grams. I slept with Piper, so I knew when she woke up.

Piper's head began to move, "Mommy?"

"Baby? You okay?"

"Tired. Hungry."

"Why don't I make some soup for you?" I kissed her forehead; it was still warm. As I was walking down the stairs, I glanced on my watch: 2:00 PM. I made Piper's soup, poured a glass of orange juice, and placed a sugar cookie on a tray. Before I climbed the stairs, I turned on the coffee maker and set several cups on the counter. I knew after I fed Piper, I would have to wake Phoebe and Paige, so we could bail out Piper. Phoebe was a beast to wake, and Paige wasn't better.

With three cup of strong coffee and warm shower, Paige and Phoebe were awake. I applied additional foundation under my eyes to cover the lack of sleep. Kyle orbed down, "Hey, you're ready to get Piper?"

We created a circle, and we held Kyle's hand. The detention center hadn't changed. It was cold steel—reminded me of when Phoebe was imprisoned as a witch—but much more.

The tablet screen displayed, NAME OF INMATE. I typed in Holly Baxter. In a matter of moments, another woman with a shaved head appeared. "Yes, you would like to see Holly Baxter?"

"I..we're here to bail Holly out and pay her fines."

"One moment…"

The steel door that towered all of us began to rise six feet in the air. We walked into the building slowly, while Kyle waited outside. Then, just as it rose, it dropped behind us. We were in a steel room with no visible doors—just slotted window. The panel opened, and the shaved woman greeted them.

"You are responsible of this juvenile for the next ninety days. Failure to do will double the time for the inmate and you will have to serve time also." My head jerked up. "We want to make sure you really want this inmate out."

I finished the paperwork and signed the last name, "Most definitely."

"It takes fifteen minutes to process the paperwork and release the inmate. You may wait here." With that, the panel closed, and we were stuck in a huge lunchbox.

Phoebe paced as Paige and I were calling our husbands. Suddenly, the wall door snuck up a snail's pace.

Piper signed some papers as we gazed at her. Piper was biker Piper: leather boots, faded ripped jeans, and a leather vest used as shirt. Her hair was braid tightly and the end reached the end of back. "Phoebe, you wanted to know how Piper was in the alternate reality. You're looking at her."

"Wow. Different, she didn't do this biker look when she was with the Valkyries."

The metal door opened and we walked into the bright sunlight.

"So, you got me out, huh?" Holly's boots jingled when she walked.

"Yes, we did."

"Who are you?"

"We're your…cousins."

"I don't have cousins."

"You do. And we need your help," Phoebe stopped in front of her.

"Lady, I appreciate you getting me out. I gotta go." Holly started to walk up the street.

"With SAFFRON, VANILLA, AND CARDEMON!" Paige yelled, "SOUNDS LIKE THE BEGINNINGS OF A VANQUISHING POTION!"

Piper sprinted and glared at Paige, "Can you say it any louder? How do know this?"

Paige countered, "I make a similar potion, but you're missing some key ingredients.

Piper started her trek again, "I find it somehow. I don't need anyone!"

I was angry, "The hell you do! I ran up to and faced her eye to eye. You need us."

"I don't!"

"You're an only child…" Phoebe started.

"You have no active powers," Paige continued.

"And you feel something's missing. You think if you had one piece of information, everything would make sense." Piper didn't respond to my words, but I knew she was listening. "You think you're part of something big. You are. And we need you."  
"I have to go home."

"Holly, we'll take you home. Have you heard of a whitelighter?" She nodded. "KYLE! He is going to take you home, and we're coming with."

We landed in a suburban home in a small town of Plano, Illinois. This town hadn't lost its look from a hundred years ago. "You're coming in with me, aren't you?"

"I have to get my $1800 worth."

The key opened. Holly walked in and kicked her boots. "Aunt Fiona! Uncle Jim! I'm home!"

From the kitchen, two middle aged adults stood in front of us. "These are my friends: Shannen, Rose, and Alyssa. This is my Aunt Fiona and Uncle Jim."

Phoebe, Paige, and I stared in shock, "Mom…and Dad."


	10. The Page

We gaped at the two people in front of us. The reincarnations of Victor Bennett and Patricia Halliwell were posing as Holly's uncle and aunt. It was an awkward silence that Holly broke up,"I'm going to change," and ran up the stairs.

They offered us to sit on opposite couches. Jim and Fiona were whispering to each other about something. Then, he looked at us, "We were getting worried. The Institute can keep some odd hours."

I had to stop Phoebe from gawking, so I nudged her with my elbow, "HEY!"

Paige covered the spat with, "The Institute." She didn't state it as a question; she wanted more information.

"Ever since Holly found out that she was a witch, she's had a difficult time adjusting. It took a long time for my sister and me to hone ours."

My own eyes bugged out, "Da—Jim, you're a witch?"

"Not practicing since my twenties; however, I thought about it more as Holly gets older." It's ironic for the man who lost his wife to magic became a witch in this life.

Paige agreed, "It would be great for you to connect. It's hard being alone—learning how to be a witch." Paige was fond of Dad. He didn't blame her for her parentage, and he became Paige's children's godfather. Dad believed all of his girls needed a Dad, and Paige loved him deeply for it. In fact, after Dad past, Paige was the one who took it the hardest. In one life, she had lost three fathers.

"And you are a witch also?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, I am also a social worker to help kids with their problems." Silence. Nothing.

"We'll still need Holly a little longer," I added. "We wanted Holly to check in and get clean clothes."

Jim smiled, "Of course." Then I could tell he was reflecting on something. "Ever since my sister was killed, Holly has had all this anger. It reminds me of a fury I vanquished years ago" Paige, Phoebe, and I shared a snicker. That's Piper, except she was the fury.

Holly plopped down the stairs with a red t-shirt and blue jeans. "Ready?"

Phoebe looked at our mother, "We'll take care of her." Fiona and Jim just smiled and nodded. I desperately wanted to stay—to talk to them—be with them, but there was so much at stake. I know Phoebe and Paige had the same feeling.

Holly climbed on her motorcycle. Phoebe, just sacrificed her time with Mom and Dad, became pissed. "And where do you think you're going, sister?"

Holly started checking her console before starting the engine, " I have to finish the potion. I thank you for covering for me back there. I didn't need to hear _the we're worried about you speech_."

I walked over to the motorcycle and pulled the key out of the ignition. "HEY!"

"Hey, nothing, I haven't got $1,800 worth yet!" I retorted. "I used a good chunk of our savings to bail your ass out, so you going to help us!"

Holly stepped off the bike, "You can't make me! Give me my key!"

Paige stepped between us. "But, we can make one hell of an offer. Your potion, you're missing items…"

Holly spun around facing her, "How did you know?"

"I've made the same potion with…my sister." Paige made Cole's vanquishing potion in the alternate world with Piper. "You need mandrake root and demon blood or flesh to make the potion work."

Holly stormed away from us, "I'll get it somewhere."

Phoebe reached her, "Without being killed? " Phoebe stared into Holly's eyes, "My eldest sister didn't think of the consequences. She wanted to hunt demons and protect us. She was killed by the Source's assassin. She was thrown through the fricking wall with my other sister. She died instantly. Our whitelighter tried to bring her back, but it was too late. You can't do this fight alone, or you will suffer the same fate as my sister." It was odd having Phoebe talk about me in front of me. I didn't think of the consequences, because I had died before and was brought back. My own cockiness really killed me.

Paige tried to soften the mood,"Help us. It will take five minutes. Then, you can have the entire kitchen yourself. I bet Institute doesn't give that free range-I know Magic School doesn't. You can make your potion, and maybe, we'll help you vanquish your demon. Seems like a win-win situation, doesn't it?" As much as Piper and Paige fought in the beginning, they both knew they completed each other.

This stopped Holly. "Fine. I will help you, but after that I'm going to kill the bastard who killed my Mom."

"Kyle!" In moments after I yelled, a shower of orbs arrived. The five of us held hand, and Kyle orbed us back home. Grams was reading the Book, looked up and pressed her palms together as if she was going to clap.

"Okay," Phoebe held Holly's hand. We need you to touch that book over there."

"WHY?"

"We're hoping that the Book will recognize you."

"Just touch the book, right?"

I sprinted to the Book and began to flip pages. "This page, here." Holly hesitantly walked over to the Book. I joined Paige, Phoebe, and Grams behind Holly to catch her when the Book "shocked" her with her past life.

Holly reached the Book and placed her hand on the Book, and…Nothing. No shock. No reaction. Nothing.

Holly turned her head, "AND?"

Phoebe steadied her nerves taking deep breaths, "Try both hands."

Holly, annoyed, placed both hands on the prophecy page and the same result-nothing.

"Can I NOW make my potion?"

Paige in defeat whispered, "Go ahead. Let us know if you need anything." Holly exited quickly out of the attic and downstairs to the kitchen.

I grabbed my hair in bunches, "Now what do we do?"


	11. Fighting for Piper

"Why didn't it work?" Phoebe gritted through her teeth.

"We did the same exact thing, and it worked for us," Paige complained.

"It's Piper," Grams interjected. "She is fighting this. If she would come back and relive all the problems she had, the heartache, the grief—especially with Leo. Accepting who she is will put her back in the same position as before. She wanted a normal life, and she had one for awhile. It's just magic got in the way."

"But there were so many good memories too. Why can't Piper overlook those?" I wondered.

"Piper will come out when she will let herself remember. Until then, watch over her. Her memories will hopefully return." Grams sighed. "I'm going to take a nap. Why don't you see what she's making in the kitchen?" Grams weighed heavily on her cane as she crept out of the attic.

Taking Grams advice, we decided to check on Holly. A large stockpot was steaming, and the cupboards for spices and herbs were wide open. We stared in amazement how fluidly Holly moved through the kitchen. There was no guessing where the utensils were. No questions about where the vials were kept—as if she had been in this kitchen all of her life.

I whispered to Paige and Phoebe, "You think she remembers? Maybe upstairs was a bluff?"

Before either of my sisters could reply, Holly looked up, "Hey, you're right. You've got everything!" Holly stared at the spice cabinets, "I love the way the herbs and spices are separated—those for cooking, those for witchcraft, and in the middle, both."

"That's not Piper," Paige seems to be confident.

"Why?" What did Paige know?

"When Piper was pregnant with Wyatt, I became head witch and changed things around like the cupboard. She absolutely hated it. I was yelled for being in her domain."

"Then, why is it still organized that way?"

"It was one of our many compromises. Piper realized finally that I did have a few good ideas."

Before I could answer, Holly interrupted us, "Demon blood?"

"It's in the back of the freezer. I didn't want my daughter to think it was a blueberry popsicle." Holly dug deeply into the freezer and brought it to the bubbling kettle."

"You might want to stand back," Phoebe warned. "It will explode when the demon blood is placed in the pot."

Taking Phoebe's advice, Holly took a few steps back and tossed the blue object into the makeshift cauldron. POOF!

Phoebe moved in closer, "So it's done?"

"I think." Holly grabbed several vials and a turkey baster we used for potions. She filled one of the vials with the purplish liquid, and she began to place the stopped on the vial.

"WAIT!" Paige yelled. "Those vials are made of very thin glass. They are meant to be broken. You stopper this potion now, this hot, it will shatter. All of your work will be wasted."

She still held onto the vial, "But what do I do now?"

Phoebe thought for a minute. "Some demons require a potion and a vanquishing spell. It would be suicidal for you to approach this demon and can't vanquish him."

"How will I know if it needs both?"

"The Book," I answered. "It should give all the information we need about your demon. By the time, we're finished looking at the Book, your potion should be cooled to bottle."

"Fine. I'll keep this one with me, so I can tell when the potion is cool enough. Let's go check your Book."

We entered the attic as the sun was beginning to set. Kip had been watching little Piper while I was dealing with this mess.

"Okay," Phoebe began, "Place your hands above the Book and concentrate on the demon. The Book should be able to find him." Holly's hands were a foot apart from the Book, and she closed her eyes. Pages began to turn rapidly until it stopped suddenly.

When Holly opened her eyes, she turned green. "That's the demon that killed my Mom."

As I looked at the same page, I encountered an eerie, ironic twist. My mouth turned dry as I whispered, "This is the demon that killed my Mom, too." I couldn't believe it; the demon who took Holly's Mom's life had taken away my mother's also. I started to shake.

"Pr-Shannen, are you okay?" Phoebe, empath or no empath, could read emotions very well.

I took a cleansing breath, and I read the entry: "The Blood Collector—an upper level demon who collects witches' blood in his syringe-like fingers. He uses the blood to corrupt the cells to kill the individual witch."

Paige gasped, "That's why people—the Halliwell line is sick. He's collected blood from our relatives to bring a plague onto our family."

I continued to read, "A potion," fingering the list, "with these ingredients will immobilize him. Then, there's a spell to vanquish him."

Holly smiled, "That sounds easy."

I felt disheartened, "It's not going to be easy. The spell needs the Power of _**Four**_."

"Power of what?"

"In other words, we have to find a way to vanquish the demon using only the Power of Three."

"Prue, that's suicide," Phoebe didn't care about names anymore.

"Who's Prue?" After no answer, Holly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the spell down.

"You know, it won't work," Paige argued.

"I don't care. I have to do something." Holly made five strides, stopped, and dropped to the floor.

"HOLLY!"

Next to Holly's body was the broken potion vial. She was covered head to toe in boils, and she was hot to the touch.

We all screamed, "KYLE!"

Kyle orbed in and placed his hands on Holly. A golden glow hovered her, but she remained the same condition.

"Why isn't this working?" I cried. I, like Phoebe and Paige, had tears in our eyes.

"I don't know. This is the first time that I haven't been able to heal the living. What do we need?"

Paige, Phoebe, and I stared at each other and, like a chorus, "Leo."


	12. The Deal

Piper lay without moving. The boils continued to form on her skin. My sisters and I knew Leo was the answer, but Kyle didn't say anything. Something was not right.

I forced my face into Kyle's, "I don't know how you know, but you do. You knew exactly where my sisters were before we did. We were within blocks to each of them. I don't know what the Elders have told you what to say or not to say, but Piper will die if Leo doesn't rescue her. It's always been that. Tell where Leo is."

Kyle took a deep breath. "He's in Atlanta."

Phoebe let Paige hold Piper, and she stood next to me. "Then, orb your ass to Atlanta and get him!"

"He might not want to see me."

Paige's face crumpled, "Why, Kyle? Why wouldn't he want to see _you?_"

"He's…my…son."

"YOUR SON!" We yelled, and we cornered him.

"You can back off now." Phoebe and I took one step back, but only one. "Fine. Twenty-five years ago, I married a witch—like Piper and Leo. We were excited when Jenny was pregnant, but I received more charges and the Elders kept me busy. Brian—Leo—was born, and I was there, but as years went on, there grew a hostility between Brian and me. Jenny died three years ago—not by magic, but ovarian cancer and I couldn't cure her. I think Brian resented me for not healing her and not being there for him, and after she died, we haven't spoken. Brian gave up his magic, and he's in medical school. I didn't know Brian was Leo until Jenny died, and the Elders wanted to make sure I had a relationship with Brian, because he was the reincarnation of Leo Wyatt. I didn't know until now, why.

"I don't know if I can convince him. There's so much anger…"

"Ironically, his son, Chris, had the same feeling about him," Phoebe put her hand on her forehead.

Tears began to sting my eyes. "I DON'T CARE if you have DADDY issues! We are going to get Leo, NOW!"

Kyle orbed us to the University of Georgia at Atlanta. We were in front of the library. Most universities were open twenty-four hours, especially during exams. When we entered, we found Brian, a dark-haired man with golden highlights wearing a Georgia Bulldog sweatshirt and jeans.

We walked to his table. Kyle cleared his voice, "Hi, Brian."

"Kyle." Brian did not leave his spot.

"We need you."

"I don't need you."

"Please, Brian, my sister's dying," I choked up. Brian snapped his head and met my eyes. "Please."

Brian slammed his tablet and his books in his bag, "FINE. I'll go, but for _you._" We exited the library into a secluded area. "I'm NOT using magic."

"But…you..have..to."

"Don't you, people, understand? I quit magic the moment my Mom died. I ignored every urge to use magic for personal gain. I don't need magic." Brian began to walk away.

"Brian!" Kyle's voice stopped his son. "I'll make a deal with you. You come with us and heal her sister—and if you don't feel anything. I won't come back. I will never bug you again. BUT, if you heal her, and you feel something, YOU will apologize for being rude AND you will start calling me DAD!"

Brian rejoined us, "That's a deal I make."

We orbed back to the attic, and Piper was on a couch, while Phoebe and Paige kept watch on her. Brian walked to Piper, "Kyle, I don't know how to heal."

"Son, I want you to think of the purest love you can imagine—a love that is endless—transcending lifetimes."

Brian closed his eyes and concentrated. A slight glow began to start in his hand, and Brian focused even more. The light grew brighter and brighter. The boils on Piper began to disappear to the point, there were no marks anymore.

Piper's eyes opened at the same time Brian did. "LEO!"

"PIPER!" Leo grabbed Piper and held her close. He turned his head to face Kyle, "I'm sorry, Dad."


	13. The Cure

Leo and Piper nestled on the couch and held hands as if no time had passed. Finally, we were together, and now we could stop this madness. We still didn't have our powers; I tried to move a vase, and nothing happened. I didn't know if even we would get our powers; we were together and that was more important than our powers.

Kyle stood behind Leo, while Paige and Phoebe stared—stared at Piper's arm. "Paige, Phoebs, what is it?"

Phoebe walked to the area in which Piper collapsed and crouched to the broken glass. "The vial with the potion had broken when Piper fell."

"And?"

Paige moved by Piper and touched her right arm. "Some of the potion fell on Piper's arm, and while you were gone. Her arm cleared up. There were no boils or any sign of illness."

"Are you saying that the potion that vanquishes the demon is the anecdote for us?" Paige and Phoebe nodded. A sudden thought came to mind, "Piper." I sprinted down the attic stairs and toward Piper's room. My sisters, Kyle, and Leo came rushing behind me. "Phoebe, Piper, we need more vials of the potion and see if it helps little Piper."

Piper and Phoebe sprinted down the stairs to the kitchen. "Kyle, Leo, if this works, it could help the rest. Be ready. Paige, I need washcloths. They're in the linen closet." I entered little Piper's room. She still had marks where the boils were, and when I touched her face, it was still warm. "Baby?"

Piper opened her eyes and whispered, "Mommy?"

"We think we have something that will help you get better." By the time, I stripped Piper of her nightgown. Phoebe and Piper had four vials of the potion, and Paige had several washcloths.

"Who are they, Mommy?"

"They are my sisters, your aunts. We'll explain everything later." Phoebe and Paige wiped the potion on her legs, Piper, her arms and face, and I did her mid-section. As if like an eraser, all the marks disappeared, and her body temperature was normal. As we finished, a bright light shined on the bed—a familiar light.

"Pretty," Little Piper mused, "What is it?"

"It means you're part of something very special, Honey." We dressed our daughter back into her nightgown and tucked her back in her bed.

I perched myself on the top of her mattress. "These are my sisters, Piper. We all have powers to help people."

"I thought you didn't have powers."

"The pretty light gave us our powers; people called us, The Charmed Ones. You want to see one of my powers?"

"YES!" On her toy box was a plush teddy bear. I moved my arm, and the teddy bear came into arms. "WOW!"

"This is Aunt Phoebe."

"I have premonitions. I can see in the future. Paige, stop thinking if you can orb or not!"

I clarified, "She is also an empath. She can read emotions and some thoughts. This is your Aunt Paige."

Paige orbed from one side of the bed to the other, "YES!" and realized we were still waiting. "I have a similar power like your Mom's. Bear." The bear left my arms, and it was in Paige's.

"This is your Aunt Piper."

"Your name is Piper, too?" I remember when we went to the 1970s and saw our younger selves. Younger Piper was also amazed of someone else having her name.

"Yes, and I have a different power. Phoebs, grab a piece of ice from that glass and throw it up." Phoebe reached into the cup and tossed the cube in the air. Piper froze the cube.

"COOL! You have my power, too."

"I have something else." Piper, then, made the ice cube explode in a million pieces.

"Will I be able to do that, too?"

I kissed her head. "We'll see. Some people might call us different names—just remember your aunts' names start with the letter P. Now, we have to do some work, and I want you to get a good night's sleep. We'll tell you more in the next couple of days." Each of my sisters hugged little Piper, and I turned off the light and closed the door.

"Leo? Kyle?" They came down the stairs. "We need all the whitelighters we can get. We have a cure for the plague." Both orbed out. "Ladies, we got some vials to fill."


	14. Blood and Crystal

The Charmed assembly line started filling, corking, and bagging vials in small baggies. At five minute intervals, a different whitelighter arrived and Phoebe checked off the Hallliwell descendents from the Book of Shadows. "Prue?"

"Yeah?"

"You named your daughter after me?"

I looked straight into your eyes, "You seem surprised?"

"I.. am."

"When I died, you weren't the only one heartbroken. I desperately wanted to stay and be with my sisters, especially you." Piper came over and hugged me.

A French whitelighter orbed, "Bonjour. Vous avez des potions pour moi?"

Phoebe nodded and handed the mesh bag to the French woman, "Ne pas boire. Appliquer la potion au corps." Phoebe pointed to the Book, "Monsieur Henri Phillips et Madame Claudette DuLac."

"Oui. Merci." The French woman kissed Phoebe's cheeks and orbed out.

Paige put her hands on her hips, "When did you learn French?"

"Would you believe I took four years in high school? I basically told her not to drink the potions, and it was only for application purposes. Phoebe took a deep breath, "Well, everyone is covered except for us and Dad and Mom."

Orbs covered the ceiling, and I had wondered if Leo and Kyle had returned, but it wasn't. In a black tight shirt and gray slacks stood the one whitelighter, I wasn't expecting.

"Darryl?" We all were a little shocked.

"The Elders thought after all the trouble you gave me, I deserved something more than reincarnation to be punished by you guys again," Darryl grinned. "I did ask for something in return."

Another set of orbs formed in the kitchen, but it looked more like a group. Shelia, Darryl's wife, and Mom and Dad held her hands. "Shelia!" Piper yelled. Then, Piper looked at her passengers, and she was more puzzled, "Mom? Dad?"

Patty Halliwell and Victor Bennett smiled. They must have known. When? We weren't sure."

"Honey, yes, it's us." Mom looked at Dad, "Your Dad first recognized the four of you—it must be his witch powers. He was so sure we had Piper. Piper's stubbornness and her joy in the kitchen were huge hints. Then, when the four of you were altogether, I knew it, too. I may not have known which was which, but after you interacted with us and each other, we knew."

My sisters and I didn't know how to react. We just stared and then lunged for all of them: Darryl, Shelia, Mom, and Dad. The eight of us created a circle of linked arms. "So," Mom kissed my head and then Paige's, "you figured out how to get rid of this demon."

Piper squeezed Phoebe's shoulder, "Some but not all. We don't know how this is spreading."

A sudden thought popped into my head, "The prophecy…did Wyatt write down all of the plagues?"

Paige rushed to the book: "Blood into water, locusts, frogs, pestilence, first born, boils, and hail."

"Something is missing," I astro-projected myself to living room bookcase, pulled _The Bible_ from its place, and turned to Exodus. Fingering the page, I found the missing plagues and returned to the kitchen. "Lice, first born, and darkness." I paced around the kitchen. "Both little Piper and Big Piper both passed out when it was getting dark. It must be how it spreads—in darkness. That means it could affect every Halliwell descendent all over the world."

"Are you suggesting we have to keep it daytime for the plague to stop? You might remember this, Prue, but I got shot the last time that happened by next door neighbor psycho police." Phoebe all too remembers when good and evil were off balanced, and the worlds were either too good or too evil.

Paige still eyed the Book and the demon page, "This vanquishing spell is too easy—almost too kind." She pleaded at the group, "A dozen or so of our children died because of this plague. It should feel all time pain."

Piper joined her, "I agree. The bastard should pay for everyone. What do you suggest, Paige?"

"There are ten plagues, right, Prue?" I nodded, "so, let it feel every plague before it dies. It won't bring our family back, but it would avenge for their deaths."

Phoebe and I joined Piper and Paige. Phoebe put her chin on Paige's head, "How I've missed you—all of you—OH!" She jerked and inhaled quickly—telling us she was having a premonition. She handed began to move in a circular motion. Paige turned to a blank page of the Book, and Piper gave her a pencil. In her premonition, Phoebe was able to draw a sectioned circle—like a quartered orange with four triangles above and below the circle.

We caught her as the premonition was over. "You were right, Prue, about the darkness. It is the killer. KYLE! LEO!" The two whitelighters joined the rest of the group in the kitchen. "If I remember from Sunday School, in order to avoid the last plague, the death of the first born, the Hebrews placed lamb's blood over the doors, so at night, the plague would pass over them. We need to do the same thing."

"How?" Paige let Phoebe sit in the chair as she started explaining.

"The crystal cage. We've used it as protection as well as trapping evil. We need to place four crystals on the top—the North Pole and four crystals on the bottom—the South Pole, but not at the same time. We have to cage the area of the Earth that is in daylight, so that when it gets dark, it is protected. We place the rest of the crystals on the South Pole as the world turns to the Sun. It would be better to have eight and eight to section the world easier and guarantee that everyone is protected."

"I don't know if I have any," I began.

Paige looked at the ceiling, "Crystals." In her arm were three crystals from somewhere in the house."

"Thanks, Paige."

"No problem, Prue. I don't have crystals at home. I didn't know about being a witch."

"But we do," Phoebe said, "Grams and I sell them. We might have seven or so."

Patty's eyes widened, "Grams, you mean Mom?"

"Grams is upstairs asleep in the guest room. She's not doing well—always tired. Why don't you go up there? She's in Phoebe's old room." Patty left for the upstairs, worried.

"Paige, if you come with me, we can get the crystals. It still won't be enough." They orbed out.

"But we have some," Victor interjected. "They're in our attic—three or four. Shelia, give me a ride." Sheila and Dad left; my Dad likes to orb—that's a day I never thought I'd see.

"It still won't give enough. Piper, any ideas?"

Piper thumped herself on the head. "Why didn't I think of this before? The Institute would have as many as we need. Leo, would you take me?" Like Piper had to ask. Holding hands, they orbed to the Institute.

Within minutes, everyone arrived with a total of eighteen crystals. Phoebe wanted us to line up the crystal in a long row. "Now, ladies, we're going to have to bless every crystal with our blood. The line will make sure we get them all, and we bless one side of the crystal, so all four of us will be accounted for. Then, we have to bless the potion."

"Why?" Piper wondered.

"For Paige's spell to work, to have that demon suffered what we have endured, the potions must have our signature to make it stick—and hard."

"I hate this part," Paige complained. Me, too, Paige. Me, too.


	15. Paige's Worry

As we blessed the crystals, Paige was talking to herself. This was not unusual, but she was lost in her thought. "Paige, what is it?" I asked.

"The vanquishing potion is too easy."

"Easy?" I asked.

"This demon killed a dozen or so of our children, and we just blow him up. I want him to suffer."

Piper had placed a band-aid on her finger as she finished blessing. "I agree. What do you have in mind?"

"If a plague killed our family, the plague should kill him back," Paige sucked her cut finger as she sat at the kitchen table. Grabbing a scrap of paper and a pencil, she started brainstorming on the spell.

Phoebe started to load the crystals in a basket. "There's something else. If the spell is different, so should the potion."

"What do you suggest?" I began placing plates in the dishwasher, an antique to today's standards, but it still works.

"We have to bless the potion also."

Paige looked up, "We have to bleed again?"

Piper reopened her band-aid, "'Fraid So."

Each of us grabbed a vial of the potion and dropped blood inside the potion. The potion changed colors based on whose blood was inside. My vial had turned almost velvet, while Piper's turned lavender. Phoebe's vial changed from purple to pink, and Paige's sparkled—it must be the whitelighter blood.

"Are we ready to call for Kyle and Leo?" Phoebe and Piper immediately said yes, but Paige was silent. "What's wrong, Paige?"

"Let's say the whitelighters create the crystal cage, and it destroys the darkness. We orb to the demon's lair, throw a potion, and vanquish the demon. Then what?"

"Honey, what do you mean?" Phoebe placed her hand on Paige's back.

"What will stop the Cleaners from erasing everything: our past lives, the time now, and the family we reunited with? The Cleaners erased Wyatt from our memories. What would stop them now? I hated being alone, and there were days, even married, I felt as if I had to conquer the world on my own. I don't want to lose my sisters again, when I can have them all together."

Piper didn't say anything, but she had tears in her eyes. "You're right." She hugged Paige, "We're going to fix that right now." Piper approached the Book.

We gathered around the Book and said the protection spell, "_Moments lost make witches wonder, warlocks plot or demons plunder, if this is not a prank, help us to fill in the blanks_."

"Thank you, Piper."

"I don't know if it's going to work, but at least now, we'll have a fighting chance."

The four of us returned the Book of Shadows to the attic. "We have the potions and crystals, but where's the demon?" Phoebe wondered.

"Duh?" Paige bounced her hand on her head.

"What, Paige?" I questioned her.

"The prophecy—it already tells us. Look—Egypt."

Piper was not pleased, "Egypt? Again?"

"At least, you weren't changed into a mummy."

"Or possessed."

"I had to pick between the two of you, and I had to deal with invincible ex-Source of All Evil, remember?" Phoebe guiltily nodded. "Sorry, Piper."

It was near dawn when everything was in place. Darryl, Shelia, and Kyle were going to create the crystal cage, so we could vanquish the demon with the new spell and the blessed potions. Mom, Grams, and Dad decided to stay at Halliwell Headquarters to keep an eye for little Piper and get Kip up to pace.

"Dad, I want to go," Leo argued.

"Son, you're not a full whitelighter anymore. The frigid cold could kill you."

"I'm their whitelighter, well, I was." Piper grabbed his hand and kissed it.

"All right, you can, but you are the in-betweener. You will tell me when to put the crystal in place." Leo smiled, but I could tell Kyle was still worried.

The four whitelighters orbed with the blessed crystals; we knew with the Earth's rotation that it will take several hours to cage the entire world. It didn't matter—we were going to be busy anyway.

We gave our hugs to Grams, Mom, and Dad. "Prue, you're not going to wake Kip?" Phoebe wondered.

"I can't. If I look at him or little Piper, I won't have the courage to go through with it." I grabbed Paige's and Phoebe's hands, while Piper held Paige's.

"Ready, sis?" Piper asked Paige.

"I am now."


	16. The Blood Collector

As we crept into the demon's lair, I felt the adrenaline kick in. The butterflies in my stomach were the size of pterodactyls; it had been so long.

"I hate to be the party pooper," Piper interjected, "but has anyone thought of dying now?"

"That's not a positive attitude," Phoebe argued.

"The prophecy said we would be together to end the curse. It didn't say if we survived it or not. That would be one way The Cleaners wouldn't interfere, because we'll be dead."

"If I die here and now, I will be with my sisters. That's not a bad thing," I reasoned, and it silenced Piper.

A squad of demons guarded the lair. Their faces were covered with black Stormtrooper-like helmets and camouflaged body armor. Great.

"Any ideas?" I whispered.

"I do," and Paige orbed in the back of them.

Before we could yell, Paige shouted, "Athame!" The orbs transferred from the demon's hands and into Paige's. She vanquished the demon with his own weapon.

To protect Paige, the three of us went into action. Phoebe levitated in front of a demon and turned, and Piper vanquished him.

"SPEAR!" Paige called for the demon's spear. Three demons approached me, and I threw them backwards and into the spear kabob style. The demons caused the other demons to explode. They were gone, except for scorch marks.

"Nice kabob style, sis," Paige congratulated me.

"Not without your help."

We destroyed seventeen demons in a matter of seconds. Now, we were warmed up for our showdown with the Blood Collector. The torch-lit path descended deeper into the catacombs. Skulls and bones littered the entrance of the lair.

The Blood Collector had lizard-like features: dark green scales, a long thin tongue, and slit eyes. His claws were different—long needles outstretched his elongated arms. He reminded me of Edward Scissorhands.

"Any strategy? Paige, don't orb. He won't fall for the same trick."

"How about a diversion?" Piper asked.

Before I could answer, the creature spoke, "I know you're here, Charmed Ones. I was alerted of your presence when you killed my guards. Come out. Come out. Wherever you are." The demon seemed cocky and even childish in his voice.

"I can't stand when demons patronize us," Phoebe complained. "We have to distract the demon, so we can throw the potions."

"How?" Paige asked.

I astro-projected myself in front of the demon, "I'm not scared of you."

"You must be Prudence, arrogant in every way. Too bad, I killed Mommy." I swung my arm, and the lizard moved backwards, but not to the ground. The astro-projection ended, but Piper, Phoebe, and Paige weren't there.

Piper attacked the demon, but he retaliated and stabbed her with one of his needles. She dropped cold.

"Let's see if I can do this," the demon created explosions around Paige and Phoebe. "Think, to die from your own sister's powers. Ironic." I sprinted to Piper to check on her, but she wouldn't respond.

Phoebe called out, "I'd bet you want my powers."

"Ah, Phoebe. You could have had it all. Damn morals," he turned and threw fireballs at Phoebe, but she levitated from any contact, but as Paige orbed on his opposite side, the demon's tail whiplashed Phoebe and threw her on the rocks.

As the demon outstretched his needle claws to approach Phoebe, Paige orbed in and threw the potion and orbed out. The potion immobilized the demon as Paige healed Phoebe, and I smashed my potion at the potion to keep him glued to his feet. Phoebe woke and launched her vial at the creature, as Paige healed Piper. She was awake, but she was still dizzy and disorientated. She had enough strength to throw her potion at the lizard and hold on to Paige and Phoebe for support.

Grabbing our slips of paper from our pockets, we read the vanquishing spell, "_We come from the past to vanquish a foe, To end a curse to ones we know, Suffer all the plagues you will, and the last of them will kill._"

The demon's blood vessels protruded his skin, oozing yellow pus. Bubbles formed on his head and popped frogs, lice, and flies. He screamed in pain, but it wasn't over yet. His feet had begun to blister and burn from the pestilence, and hundreds of boils covered his entire length. Above his head, it began to hail and locusts sprouted from the boils. The boils had blinded the demon, creating darkness. Finally, all of the plagues wrapped around the demon and its cauldron of the Halliwell curse and exploded—throwing us twenty feet against the wall.

Phoebe lifted her head, "Paige, awesome spell."

Piper wiped her arms, "But messy. Paige?"

"Yeah."

"_Suffer all the plagues, you will. _When did you become Yoda?"

"Too much?"

"Naw," Piper smiled in return.

I couldn't move; I barely could breathe. Three of my ribs were broken, but I couldn't tell anyone. Blood trickled down my ear.

"Prue?" Phoebe rushed to me. "PRUE!" She felt my neck. "She still has a pulse. Paige, you have to heal her."

I started to lose consciousness, but Paige was nearby, "Prue, I'm not going to lose you now!" Every ounce of Paige's strength was needed to heal me.

I coughed as I sat up, "Not bad for a day's work," and lay back down again and Paige joined me. Phoebe and Piper held our hands until we had the strength to move again.


	17. Backlash

We orbed to the kitchen, and the majority of our family was eating breakfast. Grams was cutting Piper's pancakes, while Mom and Dad were buttering toast and grape jelly. Kip was finishing the eggs and the bacon, and he placed them on a plate.

"Girls, how did it go?" Grams asked as little Piper stuffed a triangular piece of pancake in her mouth.

"The demon's vanquished," I answered, "but we haven't heard anything from the whitelighters, right?"

"We weren't expecting any news until later; it will give you some time to eat, clean up, and rest." As Mom began to pull chairs to the table, I noticed Kip leaving the kitchen.

I followed him to the conservatory. "Hey."

I never knew Kip's angry fairy side, but I had seen his furious witch side. "Hi." There was no emotion. "When were you going to tell me you were off to vanquish a demon?"

"I didn—"

"It would have been nice to get some heads up that I could be a widower and a single father. You know you don't have a great track record of living." Wow, he's using my past life as ammunition. "Don't you think, Shannen?"

"I knew—"

"Knew what? What did you think I'd forbid you from killing the demon? Did you not want a fight about your personal safety? How about your daughter? How do you think I could start beginning to explain what happened to you? Especially when I didn't have any clue!"

"I was going to tell you later. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to go through with it."

Kip sunk into the sofa. "I thought you had faith in me. The moment I found out you were one of the Charmed Ones, I knew there was going to be risk involved. We could have talked this through."

"Everything was going so fast! I didn't think this through, especially with you and Piper. I just wanted everything was okay." I sat next to him and lean against him. "I have nothing but faith in you. You give so much. I guess I took advantage of that. Kip, I'm sorry."

Kip hugged me, "If this Charmed thing is going to happen, we have to communicate. I think we can learn from our past lives; we have to think about the future, our daughter's future."

"I think I let my past life take control; it was who I was then."

"Phoebe had said I was a cop that was killed, because he didn't listen to your instructions." I remember confiding to Andy about the demon and Phoebe's premonitions of his death. I felt so much guilt for Andy's death, thinking I had caused his death, and a part of me still felt that guilt. "Duty sent me to my death then, and it could have done the same with you." There was no way I was going to talk about my injuries that Paige healed during the battle.

"Duty did send me to my death, and then, I regretted that decision from that point on. I thought it wasn't fair that I was dead, and I didn't fulfill my destiny. I didn't even get to know my new sister. You're right; I should have told you. Forgive me?"

"Always," and Kip kissed me. We continued to talk as the rest of family ate, and one by one my sisters climbed the stairs to wash up and collapse. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll wake you if the whitelighters come back."A part of me wanted to retort that he wouldn't to get even, but I knew when to shut up.

The shower revived me. All the demon guts were gone from my body and hair, and the heat relaxed the built-up tension. Phoebe, Paige, and Piper were in the guest room huddled.

"Did you get reamed?" Piper wondered.

"Less than I deserved," I hopped on the bed and Phoebe bounced two feet in the air.

"You think we'll keep remembering both lives, or will it get weaker over time?" Paige weakly asked.

Phoebe placed her head on Paige's head. "We'll see, honey. I do want to move back to San Francisco and be closer to the Manor and you." She looked at me. "If we are keeping our Charmed powers, we should be close to each other."

"We could go back to transcontinental orbing as before," Paige commented.

Piper interjected, "I don't. This is the first time in this life I feel like I'm myself. After having no powers, I do like them around."

"Funny, you wanted to give them away long ago," Phoebe kissed her head. "With the powers comes everything else, you know."

"I've already embraced that when I saw Leo again."

"But," I straightened the quilt, "we have to think about more than the Charmed Ones. We have family to think about and not make the same mistakes we made before. I don't want to die early; I don't want to miss growing old."

Paige grimaced, "You're not missing much."

"But all the same, I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I want to be a Grams—like all of you."

My sisters surrounded me when my tears wouldn't stop. Our force field was strong—family strong.


	18. Clean Up

For six hours, we tried to relax, but it was impossible. The Halliwells have never been known for our patience. Phoebe and Paige were playing a game with little Piper, while Piper was making brownies. Yes, Piper has to cook—that hasn't changed. I straightened up the house, even though I hated house cleaning.

Leo orbed in with Kyle, Darryl, and Shelia. "PIPER!" Piper shot into the living room with oven mitts in hand.

"Well, the crystal cage is done. Is the demon vanquished?" Leo was talking to the group, but we all knew his audience was one. Piper smiled. In response, Leo hugged Piper as she pulled off her mitts. We tried not to celebrate. We were victorious with the curse and the demon, but so many had to be sacrificed. The feeling didn't stay long."

"Ah, the Charmed Ones are back," one of the Cleaners smiled. "You've done a service for the magical community, but I'm afraid, you're going to have to go back."

I stood in front of my family. "Back, where?"

"Past lives can confuse the current life. Decisions can be altered or biased. In order to grow, you must learn from your mistakes on your own."

"And as the Charmed Ones—we don't have any consideration."

"Especially the Charmed Ones. The prophecy has been fulfilled, and the threat is gone."

Phoebe yelled, "FOR NOW!"

"The Charmed Ones attract evil. When you return back to your normal lives, you will have no powers and evil will not be a problem."

"Like Hell, it will!" Piper screamed. "The demon killed our family, and how can we defend ourselves with no active powers?"

The Cleaner held his hand up. "Enough. Goodbye, Charmed Ones." He waved his hands, and Piper, Phoebe, and Paige disappeared, but in a matter of seconds, they boomeranged back. "WHAT! What happened?"

"We do think ahead of time—at least one of us does," I smiled at Paige who smiled back.

"Ladies, do you remember the last time The Cleaners messed with the Charmed Ones?" Piper served up.

Phoebe grinned back, "We made a lot of problems for you, didn't we?"

Paige moved forward, "We can do that again, but it's not just us, our family knows who we are."

"STUBBORN WITCHES!" and they disappeared without another comment.

"Next to the Elders and demons, I love pissing off The Cleaners," Piper hugged Paige.


	19. Two Years: An Epilogue

For the Charmed Ones to be under one "roof" took two years. We had to weave the past with our present without going insane. Around strangers and non-family, we used our present names, but around the house, we still used our given P names, except for Piper.

Piper didn't leave San Francisco; she just moved in as Mom and Dad sold the house in Illinois. She wanted to start her new life as soon as possible and forget the mess she left there. Enrolling into San Francisco Culinary Academy, Piper wanted to return to the restaurant business, and she insisted that people called her Piper instead of Holly.

Instead of her past life interfering with her present, she used it to her advantage. The technology might have changed, but skill and technique were never out of style. In the first two weeks, Piper blew through her lessons that beginning chefs struggle with. She was always the first one finished, and her food was amazing as it ever did.

One of the chefs, Chef Keith Cho, pulled her aside and began to see what she already knew. Piper filleted, sautéed, and grilled; she prepared appetizers, entrees, and desserts including pastries and frozen. Cho was impressed with her skills and wondered if she came from a restaurant family. Her teachers thought that a more practical training was needed to hone her skills further; Cho volunteered to take Piper under his wing.

Piper wondered if Chef Cho was really Mark Chao, the murdered Chinese man who needed a proper burial in order to go to Heaven. Through their time together, Piper fell in love with him and his love of cooking. As a gift, Mark had given her a box of family recipes that she would be able to use in her cooking. On the Chef's birthday, Piper prepared Peking Duck from Mark's family recipe. Cho tasted the delicacy, and he had tears in his eyes. Piper proved he was the same soul.

Cho offered Piper his executive chef position at the year mark, but Piper had wanted to start her own restaurant. Instead of begging Piper to stay, he helped finance Halliwell's. He had that much faith in her. Piper knew she wanted the same policies as before—hiring the magical, and she had the faith to tell Cho. It was surprising Cho didn't react; he believed it explained a lot of her abilities. Of course, she wanted to own a restaurant—she already had, decades before Cho was born.

With Piper's new restaurant, it involved everyone in the family. Kip was back to normal, and he designed the interior and the exterior of the restaurant. His horticultural/fairy experience made the rooms homey yet classical. I was in charge of advertising and the visual look of the restaurant. My pictures were published in the daily news scans, and the culinary world was already buzzing of this talented genius. Piper didn't get a big head; she knew it wasn't genius-it was plain old experience.

As the opening of her restaurant was approaching, Mom and Dad had sold the house in Illinois. Their new house was one block from the Manor. Mom created the menus, while Dad helped with the accounting. They both left profitable careers, but their girls meant more than any money in the world.

As the months went on, Grams' condition was getting worse. Phoebe tried to keep her comfortable and keep the store going with her news scan job. Finally, Darryl orbed Mom to Salem, so she could take care of her. By late September, we lost her.

Grams' funeral was the first time since the prophecy we had been together. We mourned for her, but Phoebe had known it for weeks. In those weeks, Phoebe quit her job and made arrangements for another witch to take care of the shop. The witch paid handsomely for the store and promised to keep Grams' spirit alive. Phoebe, Mom, and I dealt with the logistics of the assets and the moving to San Francisco. Darryl and Shelia's orbing moving company made the transition easier, and Phoebe replanted herself by mid-November.

Phoebe was pulled into Piper's/the family's restaurant immediately. With her empathic and prophetic abilities, Phoebe was in charge of hiring. We did have to vanquish a couple demons along the way, though. They thought we wouldn't notice. We weren't sure if the demonic world knew that the Charmed Ones were reborn, but they did know that there was high activity in the Manor again.

Phoebe thought Coop would have entered the picture. Everyone was with her mate, but not her. Phoebe was almost thirty before meeting Coop, and Coop was sent to her as a reward for her endurance and perseverance throughout the years. The demon was right; she could have had it all—being the Queen of the Underworld and a powerful husband to boot, but she wouldn't change it. Her love of her sisters had overruled evil and sacrificed her love for Cole. In all, Phoebe was bummed, but like before, she would endure it.

Paige was the symbol of endurance. Like the past life, Paige was the last to arrive in San Francisco and the Manor; however, it didn't go as she had planned. In fact, it was disastrous. Her husband, Ivan, freaked when Paige revealed her powers to him. Henry had accepted it and dealt with it, but Ivan couldn't handle the shock.

Several days, Ivan wouldn't talk to Paige. He moved out of their bedroom and into the guest room. He left early and arrived home late. Paige was beside herself. Phoebe did come to help Paige; she would comfort Paige and reassure her that her husband would turn around after the initial shock.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Ivan walked into the kitchen, and Paige thought that they would talk. Instead, he wanted a trial separation. He didn't want to deal with Paige and her powers. She agreed, and she moved to San Francisco. Paige believed if Ivan was Henry Mitchell, he would come around, someday.

Even with that attitude, Paige was inconsolable and wandered through life for several weeks. After her shock, she was hired at the San Francisco's Department of Children's Services, and she began to engage again. Placing her own grief aside, she prevented pain and abuse of San Franciscan children. Through her social work, magical creatures found her alike her past life. She was able to help the magical community with all the "bumps" in the night.

Alike to Phoebe, Paige wondered if she would meet her biological father, Sam, again—whether by accident or design. She wasn't neglected; Dad spoiled Paige as much as he did with his own daughters. He never blamed Paige for her existence, and alike to the past life, treated her equally.

Dad accepted Leo as his son-in-law without the marriage certificate. Leo and Piper were a couple and a test of lifetimes. He feared his daughter would marry Leo immediately, but the restaurant took her time, which was fine with Dad. Leo had to return to Georgia and finish his medical exams. He visited Piper off and on through the two years, and Leo had to finish his residency in Atlanta.

Leo finally accepted who he was, and Kyle and he began a new relationship. Leo as well as Kyle wanted to put his medical experience to use, since Leo was only half-whitelighter. He didn't want to heal people miraculously and expose magic to the outside world. Piper and he had strange hours, and like before, they would go through some difficult times, but they accepted it.

Finally, my sisters and I were together, and we worked together as a family. Demons did attack the Manor, and with care in mind, we planned carefully and executed cleanly. Paige and Phoebe shared an apartment near the Manor and lived as single ladies. Paige hadn't spoken to her husband for six months and was waiting for the divorce papers to arrive, and she wouldn't fight it.

The restaurant opened without a hitch, and Piper and Cho had a profitable night. The entire family including Darryl and Shelia celebrated the new Halliwell's. Near the end of the night, Paige's husband arrived. Ivan didn't have divorce papers with him; he had come to apologize for his behavior. In his mind, his life wasn't complete with Paige, and Paige felt the same way. They knew they would have to work together, and Ivan would have to deal with the Darrin Stevens role like Henry did. Again, whenever demons entered the picture, we thought about our family and the impact of our actions.

Shannen Aster didn't go away. In fact, Prue Halliwell took a back seat for most of the time. Kip was right; we had to learn from our past mistakes, no matter how far in the past it was. Our Charmed lives integrated with our current lives smoothly most of the time.

I didn't mind not having any drama happening to me. Being on the back burner was new, but I continued to spend time with my sisters, my husband, and my daughter. My only stress was little Piper; she was constantly freezing objects and trying to blow them up like her Aunt Piper. Pray, she doesn't figure this out, yet.

To prevent permanent house damage, I sent Piper to the backyard for her "experiments." With the tall fence and leafy trees surrounding the grounds, exposure was not going to be a problem. I watched her from the kitchen table.

"Hey." I spun around and saw Cole. Cole? Dressed in a gray suit and black turtleneck, Cole looked stunning.

"Cole? What—"

"I came to congratulate you for saving your line—the whole family." It had been two years since the Blood Collector. Why now?

"Thanks." Why did he look like—himself? "Are you a whitelighter, too, like Darryl and Shelia?"

"No," Cole chuckled, "the Elders wouldn't dream of that after all I'd done. I was given a…different…job." Cole conjured a clipboard, a black clipboard.

I knew that clipboard. "You're an Angel of Death, aren't you?"

Cole nodded. "The Elders didn't really want me in circulation again, so they chose a job that fitted my…personality. I wasn't in Hell or Limbo. All was good."

"How long have you've been Death?"

"Fifty or sixty years." Cole hadn't changed or aged over the years. He smiled, "I actually like it. I get to comfort those who leave the world and take them to their families."

I panicked, "You're not here for me, are you?"

He laughed, "No and not your daughter. I've been watching over the Halliwell family for years, and when the four of you popped up again, I was worried, especially for you and Phoebe. I know Phoebe's worried that she'll be single forever and be an old maid; I don't want her to think that, but I can't solve the problem either. I cannot tell the future. I am who I am." When Death approached me before, he had the same thing. Death is not good or evil; it is, what it is.

"You are with the person who you are supposed to be with. I know if Andy was alive, you've married him and lived happily with him. I know I was in the right place at the wrong time. Phoebe will be happy. Please tell her to not lose faith in love. It will come to her as before."

I didn't approach him, but I still felt near to him. "We'll see you again?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid it won't be at the best of times. Blessed be."  
Cole's body swirled in a black smoke and disappeared.

The prophecy had brought my family together and awarded those who were dedicated to us.

"WOO-WHO!" I heard little Piper screamed.

I opened the kitchen door and saw little Piper making ice cubes into slush. Dammit.


End file.
